In both name and subject, colour plays a big part in this week’s home video releases.
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It’s still astounding that British actor David Oyelowo was able to turn in such a masterful performance as civil rights pioneer Martin Luther King Jr., and judging from the clip above even Oyelowo himself is surprised it worked out. The special features include two audio commentaries with director Ava DuVernay, Oyelowo, and various other crew members; several featurettes; a series of extended and deleted scenes; and the music video for the Oscar winning song “Glory”.
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Last year’s Toronto International Film Festival had to get tough on films having sneaky world premieres at the earlier Telluride Film Festival, a move that prevented TIFF from having as many big draws on it’s film slate. One film that saved its world premiere for Toronto fans was Mike Binder’s Black or White starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer as warring grandparents fighting for custody of their biracial granddaughter. The film didn’t do too well when it was released earlier this year though, pulling in $21.5-million and earning just 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. The home release includes very few features; just a couple of featurettes including a making of feature titled ‘Shades of Gray”. Speaking of which…
Fifty Shades of Grey (Available Friday May 8)
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The softcore romance hit opened with a ton of hype on Valentine’s Day weekend and roped in $166-million total at the box office. The buzz fell off fast after the first couple weeks though, and with director Sam Taylor-Johnson leaving the franchise after rumoured clashes with the book’s author E. L. James, and the questionable chemistry between its stars, it will be interesting to see if the sequels drum up as much interest or if the series has lost its spark. A ‘teaser’ for the second film is included on the home release along with theatrical and unrated versions of the film, featurettes on Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson and their characters, and a special “Pleasure of Pain” interview and show and tell with the film’s BDSM consultant.
Also available:
Mr. Turner
Love, Rosie
The Pyramid
Lost River
Murder of a Cat
Playing it Cool
Black Sea
